Marc Methot out for at least two games, Tyler Pitlick set to return on road trip

FRISCO, Texas — Defenseman Marc Methot will miss at least two more games with a lower-body injury, while forward Tyler Pitlick is cleared and ready to return as the Dallas Stars prepare for a three-game road trip.

Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said that Methot wouldn’t travel with the team, and that Dallas didn’t need to recall a defender.

That means the defense pairs should mimic both Friday’s win against the New York Islanders and practice on Sunday.

Hitchcock said that if Methot is ready by Thursday, it would be easy to have him re-join the team in Tampa Bay after spending a couple days working out back in Frisco.

The forward situation is a bit trickier with Pitlick returning. Hitchcock doesn’t believe in a player losing their job to injury, so Pitlick will likely be back in the lineup against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday.

Hitchcock said it would be a tough decision on whom to scratch. It’s also hard to see him splitting up the top two lines, so Remi Elie could be the healthy scratch alongside Jason Dickinson.

On Sunday the Stars ran the following lines, with Pitlick and Dickinson rotating in: